So, The Owner Of The L.A. Clippers Is A Racist

An audio recording purportedly of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is sending shockwaves around the sports world. On the tape, Sterling tells his girlfriend V. Stiviano (who is half-black and half-Mexican) not to bring black people to Clippers games or pose with them in pictures on social media.

Here are some of the lowlights of the nine-minute tape:

“It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?”

And this:

“You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it … and not to bring them to my games.”

One of the people specifically mentioned on the tape by Sterling is none other than NBA legend, and Los Angeles hero, Magic Johnson, who has since vowed to never attend a Clippers game again:

TMZ reported this morning that Clippers owner Donald Sterling doesn’t want me or other African-Americans to come to Clippers games.

About Doug MataconisDoug holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May, 2010 and also writes at Below The Beltway.
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Donald Stirling has been a public disgrace for at least 3 decades. Prior to purchasing the Clippers I believe he was, and still is, a prominent real estate mogul in the LA region. I also believe that his firm has been successfully sued by Black and Hispanic plaintififfs for housing discrimination.

The larger context is that this is yet another (unfortunate) very public reminder that racism is hardly behind us. There are many people out there, who, like Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling, who hold similar retrograde views on race.

The larger context is that this is yet another (unfortunate) very public reminder that racism is hardly behind us. There are many people out there, who, like Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling, who hold similar retrograde views on race.

Racism and racists are hardly extinct from the earth, no…but the fact that comments such as these primarily come nowadays from angry 70-something men like Bundy and Sterling, and spark near-universal condemnation and outrage as soon as they go public, ought to be considered a sign of progress and cause for hope.

Disgusting if true. OTOH, it could be a “shiny pony” moment to draw attention away from the multimillionaire Obama supporter who beat the sh@t out of his girlfriend, and got off with 65 days community service.

This doesn’t make sense on a number of levels – most racists have no problems making money off of races they despise. In fact, making money off of them is generally considered a good thing in racist circles (wasn’t that one of the points of slavery?). Given what I’ve heard of how popular the NBA is among blacks in LA, you’d expect him to be all for anything that gives him more of their money …

If the report is true, not only is he racist, but apparently, incredibly stupid as well (the two aren’t necessarily synonomous).

(Blake Griffin just fell to the floor. And yes, it was very dramatic.)

I listened to the tape. It’s very sad. Sterling sounds like a very weak, unstable man in a very weird relationship that is crumbling. He also sounds like a man who has made considerable efforts NOT to be racist himself, but still bows to racist pressure from….somewhere.

Bird is certainly Johnson’s equal as a player, a claim few can make. As an ambassador for the game? Not even close. Johnson is a PR man’s fantasy come to life. If people call you “Magic”, and no one thinks it’s a joke, you really are something special.

@lilo: Disgusting if true. OTOH, it could be a “shiny pony” moment to draw attention away from the multimillionaire Obama supporter who beat the sh@t out of his girlfriend, and got off with 65 days community service.

No, I doubt that. Some elements from the story that apparently escaped Mr. Mataconis’ notice:

2) Sterling has a record of racist statements in the past couple of years.

3) Sterling was slated to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles NAACP.

Those aspects will be downplayed, of course (if not outright buried) because We Must Not Harsh The Narrative — that “racism” is the single biggest issue facing us in the upcoming election, and anyone who disagrees Is Obviously A Racist Themselves. Bringing up any other issue as possibly more important than The Racist Right will be squelched.

3) Sterling was slated to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles NAACP.

Funny how I read that in several other places. If it was being “buried” it’s gone Zombie. As to his being a Dem, first I wouldn’t know one way or the other, 2nd, who cares? Nobody ever said there were no racist Dems. 3rdly, if Republicans are tired of being accused of being racist they could try not making stupid racist comments, or making heroes of people who make stupid racist comments. They could… But they don’t.

How was this guy ever approved to own an NBA team?
I find it shocking that this guy has a girlfriend who looks young enough to be his grandaughter or a high school student. I haven’t seen or heard anyone say anything about that, maybe they have. How does he get away with that ?
Is there no shame anymore ?

@Tyrell: the San Diego Clippers were a failing franchise and needed an owner. Sterling, being a shrewd man (one of the few good things one can say about him), bought the team some 30 years ago for the bargain-basement price of $12.5M and moved it to LA. Where they have sucked mightily for most of their tenure, both living in the long shadow of the Lakers and being cursed with an owner who saw the franchise merely as a way to profit from the league’s revenue sharing agreements.

Pretty sure that back in the early 80s when the sale was approved (and sponsored by Jerry Buss, the influential Lakers owner), the league could not have had the slightest idea he was such a jerk. Well, very wealthy people can tend to be jerks because nobody says ‘no’ to them; I guess I meant to say they had no idea he would end up being such a PR embarrassment.

@steve: “old, rich guys have young, attractive girlfriends”: I will put that on my “Life isn’t fair” list, right under – death, taxes, wrinkles, parking meters.
I do have a “doesn’t make up for life isn’t fair, but these help” list: roller coasters, puppies, quarter pounder with fries & shake, cotton candy, and the beach.